A Heightened State of Normalcy in the Age of Bioterrorism

“You’ve got to maintain an increased index of suspicion from this day forward,” said Richard Bradley, M.D., clinical assistant professor in the department of emergency medicine and the emergency center’s medical director at Memorial Hermann Hospital, and assistant medical director or emergency medical services for the city of Houston Fire Department.

There are many elements of the National Disaster Response Network, Bradley said, including federal, state, and local government areas, as well as private sectors, and volunteer organizations – all part of The University of Texas Medical School at Houston’s Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Series.

The lead national terrorist monitoring organization, he said, is the FBI.

“In the event of a chemical or radiological emergency in Texas, first call 9-1-1,” Bradley said.

When a chemical or radiological emergency occurs in the local community, first responders will be the fire department. Hazard medical personnel and the fire department will put up tents and wash people down.

For biological events, first responders will be the clinicians - they’re on the front line of patient care. They’re the ones who notice symptoms such as fever or diarrhea, who sense if something is not right.

“If a smallpox incident occurred,” Bradley said, “we are prepared to inoculate 1 million people in 10 days through 20 vaccination clinics, with eight vaccination stations per clinic, and 4,680 personnel pulling 16-hour days.”

Bradley recalled one amusing response to bioterrorism preparedness.

“She was the salt of the earth, really ... just an ordinary person. She walked into the emergency room at Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital, wearing a filter mask, yellow rubber kitchen gloves, and carrying a small white envelope with tongs. Loudly she announced, ‘I suspect anthrax.’ The neighbor who had driven her to the hospital quietly stood by. They were whisked to another area by hospital personnel, stripped, and showered down. Hospital experts later determined that her envelope specimen was harmless.”

Anthrax, Bradley said, is often mistaken as a chemical when it is in fact a biological agent.

Every disaster response starts locally, Bradley said. For instance, corporate security people, including major energy, banking, and federal officials, need to be particularly aware of the importance of having a good response plan.

Currently, a local medical response corps is being developed. Scott Lillibridge, M.D., is directing the newly established Center for Biosecurity and Disaster Preparedness at the UT-Houston School of Public Health, and collaborates with S. Ward Casscells, M.D., vice president for biotechnology at UT-Houston. Lillibridge’s wife, Kristy Murray Lillibridge, is an assistant professor of epidemiology in the school, effective Dec. 1. She presently works with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in keeping infectious diseases from entering the United States.

A national pharmaceutical stockpile is being readied, Bradley said, that consists of packages, each containing 50 tons of life saving pharmaceuticals, antibiotics, chemical interventions, as well as medical, surgical, and patient support supplies. These units can be rolled onto cargo planes and deployed to any disaster area within 12 hours.

In a crisis situation, Bradley said, be in an “all hazards preparedness” state of mind.

If You Find a Suspicious Substance ...

• Have a family disaster plan.
• Have a well-stocked first aid kit on hand.
• Have a three-day supply of food and water that doesn’t require cooking.
• Have a battery operated radio.
• Only one call for help is needed at the scene of the incident.
• Washing is recommended for the hands, face, and hair. It’s probably not necessary to wash the whole body.
• Cover the suspected evidence.
• Walk away, but not too far away; you don’t want to contaminate a wide area.
• Put on another set of clothes.
• Put specimens in a bag.
• Go home, wait, call for help again.

E-Mail: tmcinfo@texmedctr.tmc.edu
URL: http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/12_01_02/page_18.html